If someone says the best anime movie and your immediate response isn’t A Silent Voice, then you’re probably on the wrong path in life. However, on a more serious note, A Silent Voice is easily one of the best anime movies that treats its characters with a lot of love and respect. Naoko Yamada, the director of the movie, presents both main characters and explores them from a non-judgmental perspective.
They feel extremely real, as if they were making their own decisions rather than being written by someone. For this reason, many fans have found solace in the movie. Interestingly, during an interview, Yamada once admitted that she was more interested in Shoko than Shoya, and tried to bring more of her perspective into the movie.
Naoko Yamada Wanted to Portray the World From Shoko’s Perspective
A Silent Voice starts when Shoko enters Shoya’s world and becomes a target for his bullying. While she could be mistaken for a victim, the movie explores her as someone who has a disability, but it’s not the extent of her personality.
Shoko’s experiences shaped the perspective of the world in an almost innocent way. Instead of holding people accountable for their unfair treatment of her, she often projects kindness at them.
Beyond exploring her character traits, we get to understand how her disability carves her perspective of the world. During an interview with Cartoon Brew, Naoko Yamada shared how her feelings for Shoko made the character a priority for her over the actual protagonist.
Even though the protagonist of the film is Shoya, I cherished the sound that was understood and experienced by Shoko more, and also, the sound both of them have in common.
While Shoko had an added level of difficulty that made it difficult to connect with other people, she still had a lot of shared experiences with them as a human. Yamada seemingly focused more on that aspect of the character and found a middle between the central duo.
The Movie Did a Brilliant Job With Shoya’s Character as Well
While the director had a soft spot for Shoko, Shoya got his fair share of attention as well. In the manga, Shoya was a more pronounced version of his movie counterpart. He was more aggressive and most of his actions were aimed at alleviating his boredom. However, the movie toned him down a little and he became less decisive and more conscious of his actions as he grew up.
We see two versions of him, first as a child who is not supposed to be likable and does questionable things. Second, as a lost young adult, he deeply regrets his actions and tries to redeem himself. And, both these aspects of his character are fleshed out brilliantly. We either understand his evolution, empathize with him, or appreciate him for striving to be better.
This is why when he finally feels ready to confront the world, and the crosses start peeling off one after the other, it feels like a personal victory. In this way, A Silent Voice explores various characters without judging them for their actions. It feels like a safe space for everyone who wants to do better, and this is probably why so many fans have found comfort in the movie.
A Silent Voice is available on Netflix.
